Sometime Around Midnight
by TheChriZ1995
Summary: Life as a lone wolf isn't what it was all cut out to be for Humphrey. Battered, bruised, and hungry, after months of failure at hunting he reaches his breaking point. Never has he felt so low, the end seems near and he must choose the next move. Struggle on, or become free of it all?


**A/N: Warning, the following involves elements that some readers may find very upsetting, if you do not like tragedy then do read something else.**

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Sometime Around Midnight - TheChriZ1995

The warm summer breeze blew through the long grass and treetops which caused them to dance and weave in response. The sky was stained a deep orange hue as the sun began to set beyond the distant mountains. Everything in the forest was calm, which was exactly the way a certain grey wolf wanted it to be. He moved gently through the grass trying immensely to not make any sound. Stealth was what he needed right now for his target stood a few yards before him, and nothing was going to stop him from bringing it down.

The wolf played his strategy right, after a few months of learning what worked and what didn't when it came to hunting he now knew that tonight would be the night of success. His body was crouched low and yet walked around like he weighed nothing at all. His position was downwind and the grass acted as a cloak to cover his dull grey color. The target was distracted and so far suspected nothing according to what he could see, it was the best set up he has ever had.

Inching closer nothing changed and soon the wolf was within striking distance. He could hear the animal's breath as it munched on the grass before him, it was at this moment he paused to wait for the best moment to pounce. Along this wolfs body you could see a few scars and bruises from previous hunting attempts. This wasn't your typical alpha turned lone that was out here, no it was an omega, and like any omega they knew nothing about hunting. This wolf had to learn everything on its own and unfortunately it came at the price of many failed attempts.

Perhaps his luck was finally changing with tonight being the turning point. If he brought this deer down then he would no longer be starving and could regain enough energy to ensure a lengthy survival out here in these woods. The lack of food was taking the biggest toll on him, his ribs were nearly visible and if he continued to fail each hunting attempt it would bring him to his end. There was so much he needed to learn and do as a lone wolf, and now was the time to begin perfecting all the tricks to it. Because after today he only had less than a week to keep trying until all his energy would be drained.

The wolf took a deep breath as the moment came, right as the deer turned his head in the opposite direction he leapt out of the grass that covered him and flew towards the animal's neck. There was a brief silence as he flew through the air before latching his jaws into the animal's neck. The deer yelled out and began to jerk its head and body around in a despite attempt to rid the grip of its attacker. Unfortunately for the wolf it was working and as much as he bit down into its neck his grip was loosening. Within the time of several seconds he went from pouncing onto the deer to being thrown down hard on the dirt ground.

He quickly got to his paws to attempt a second strike however the deer already had its antlers pointed at him. He tried to get around with a jump but the animal realized this and knocked him in the side midair which ended up with him having another bad landing. The best option right now would be to just runaway but desperation powered the wolf. It took two more failed attempts and hits of boney antlers to get him to give up. With one loud growl he turned around and ran the opposite direction in defeat, he didn't get far though. The whole ordeal had worn him out and he needed to rest his already tried body. Panting heavily he came to a stop by a tree trunk and sat down looking back the way he had just come.

"Dammit!" He cursed between breaths.

That was the closest he had come to bringing down a deer in just about a month, the last one was an older caribou who was already practically dying when he showed up. Other than that it's just been squirrels and berries that have been keeping his hunger tamed, which only provided so much. Squirrels did taste good but they were just as hard to catch as deer and caribou, and berries were the foulest thing he had ever tasted. He looked down along his side and noticed that one of his past scars had opened up and was starting to bleed due to the event. He sighed knowing that after the blows he took today his soreness would not be going away. Not to mention that he would have to go wash off his pelt to make sure that it would not get infected.

It's nothing but a struggle out here, while a typical wolf could make do with this solo lifestyle he could not. His personality at heart was defiantly not that of a lone's, caring and peace aren't needed here and unfortunately that was the two main skills he had. Although going through this experience of failure and struggle with barely any gain has really taken a toll on his moral. He had countless emotions pent up inside him that he took his frustration out on the things he hunted. This was against what he believed in as an omega, yes you had to kill to get food but it's only for survival not in the satisfaction of taking a life. However that was no longer his mindset.

Along his journey to a stream that was close by he thought deeply about what went wrong in his attack. Every move he did was perfect in his opinion but when it came to the actual event he failed. Perhaps it was because of his low stamina or the fact that he was going against a bull deer, either way there was no gain today. There was nothing to blame but himself, in his mind he didn't try hard enough, yet in reality that was all he had. Now he was in deep trouble, the berry bushes around him were practically void of fruit and doing anything strenuous will become harder. Eating leaves was all that he could think of to lightly satisfy his hunger for the night.

After washing off in the river the wolf stopped to look at his reflection in the water to make sure there weren't any other wounds he didn't see. The only thing he saw was the depressed and abused figure that was himself, the sight of which disgusted him. He didn't belong out here, he should be back in a pack where he was looked after and protected. Sadly that life was ruined for him; he couldn't go back, not with the current situation there. Running away seemed like such a promising idea back then; it offered this wolf escape and peace. Two things that he really needed but never got, from day one the struggle began and progressed into today's current state.

"Look at you Humphrey, why did you let it come to this?" The wolf said to himself, the only form of socialization.

It's ironic that Humphrey's own reflection disgusted him, this was who he was at the moment but he refused to believe it. Also he was barely recognizable now. His fur was a mess even though he just got out of the water; his eyes were strained from sleepless nights and sobbing. This was only a phase and while things seemed bleak he had hope. He would get better and heal to his healthy state, it would take some time but he would get there. Yet any successful lone wolf could look at him and tell that his days were numbered, it's a sad truth but can be changed. To think that this all happened because of one wolf, Kate was the female he spent most of his pack life chasing after, and when he got close to having her he was just thrown to the side. She had an arranged marriage which he was never told about, and finding out this truth when it was already too late began to change him into what he is today.

Humphrey thought he nailed it and was set up to have a great future with the one he loved but it wasn't meant to be no matter how hard he tried. That night after returning home from Idaho is when he realized that running away would save him a great deal of pain. His heart was already burned from the way she played it off like there was nothing going on between them, that everything they did the past week was unimportant. How could she treat him this way? Making him feel so... used and worthless. Frankly this was what it took for Humphrey to realize that the warnings of his pack mates had told him were true. Going after an alpha was useless; an omega like him only belonged with another omega.

His emotions began to build at this point and after saying his goodbyes he left the park without incident. He even got the courage to tell Kate that he was leaving, making the real reason of why as clear as he possible could. To no surprise she did nothing to stop him which only further proved to him that she didn't care about him like he did for her. He hated her now, he couldn't stand to look at her let alone see her with another male. However he only blamed himself for what happened, he was told that what he was doing was no good and it was his mistake to ignore them. Now he was getting his harsh punishment by being a lone wolf on the borderline of survival.

Never did he feel so lonely, so worthless, so weak, and so small. What was there to look forward to in his life now, other than surviving to see the next week? In a pack he could have a mate and family with not a care in the world when it came to catching food and protection. That life was ruined for him, he accepted the fact and never wanted to go back no matter how despite he got. There was nothing there for him anymore, why have the luxuries of pack life when the wolves around you feel like enemies. It wasn't like omegas were recognized for their hard work there; few alphas understood how important omegas were, while everyone else didn't and treated them like dirt rather than another wolf. It was a reality Humphrey never really comprehended until he ran away. Who knew it took all this to open his eyes to the true world around him.

Sometime passed and now nightfall had arrived, silver moonlight lit up the forest and clouds dissipated to reveal the starry sky above. Normally Humphrey enjoyed admiring the night sky but today wasn't one of those nights, he was tired yet rest has eluded him. While a majority of nights were like this lately something entirely different was troubling him and causing a debate within his mind. Lying on the hard floor of his den he had his eyes closed and kept repeating to question of "Why?" in his head. "Why go through all this?" Normally his answer was to just accept this struggle as a part of being a lone, but no longer was that the case. The fact that his days were numbered was beginning to press down upon him, and it sent cold shivers down his spine. He was too young to die and didn't deserve it, he would continue to survive and die of old age, not hunger or anything else like that.

He felt so scared right at this very moment, there was no one he could turn to other then himself. No one he could talk to and say how much he has messed up his life. Pack life wouldn't accept him back in and his parents had died long ago in his days as a pup. He was alone, and wanted so much to not be, yet at the same time he didn't need it. This confused him, sure the thought of dying scared him however it wasn't enough to give him a proper reaction. As if death held something more...

'Perhaps death offers a new beginning...' Humphrey wondered in his thoughts.

To any wolf, death was a scary thing. No wolf wants to die at a young age, and most saw it as the end, the end of everything. Nothing else happened afterword, just total blackness as your being was erased away. However it was at this moment that Humphrey began to wonder if death would be the better option rather than continuing the struggle he was stuck in.

"No! What am I thinking?!" He suddenly stated "I shouldn't think of such a thing like that..."

Killing himself would never be the best option, for as long as he had hope and faith he would make it. He would make it through this and he will succeed at being a lone wolf, he just had to. Yet as he reasoned with himself that he needs to keep living, the idea of death still called to him. It was as if his mind was in an argument with itself, one side says live on and fight while the other bickers about how easy and better death can be. He kept saying that he's better than that, and will not take the easy way out of this.

'Who am I kidding, there's no way I'll survive this...'

'You will survive this! You can try again tomorrow to bring down some food.'

'Why invite the possibility of more failure? End it now and there will be no more failure, pain, and suffering.'

'There is no failure; you've only had some bad luck today. Someday soon you will start bringing in the real kills.'

There seemed to be no end to this, part of him said one thing while the other came back with another thing that would change his mind. It seemed like an endless loop that poor Humphrey was caught in now. Finally he just couldn't take it anymore, he eyes began to water as he took in the realization that death was winning. He only had to look at his own reflection to understand that he was done for. His body ached and his hunger was at the point of causing him pain. Why should he continue on like this?

So say maybe he did make it through this twist of fate and recovered, what next? There were still many years to live in his life and he couldn't think of what he would do to fill in those years. Love was ruined for him so he wouldn't be looking to start a family, and he didn't think he could find friends out here. Perhaps if he knew how hard being a lone wolf would have been he would have stayed in Jasper no matter how much it hurt him. But it was too late for that now, he made his mistakes and choices, this was the price he would have to pay, the price of death.

There really was nothing to live for; he was struggling to survive for no reason. To think that a former omega would contemplate suicide is beyond belief, but what else was there for him to do? His body was in pain both mentally and physically and it would take months if not years for his mental side to heal on its own. It was likely that he would starve to death out here so why wait around for it to happen when he could take the easy, pain-free, way out. Maybe there was something waiting for him on the other side, or maybe there was nothing. Either way, his choice has been made...

After his decision was made following many hours of mental debate he stood up and exited his den for the last time. It was midnight now and the moon shined overhead giving no indication that tonight was a dark night for one particular wolf. He couldn't help but notice the beauty of the night as we walk through the woods. To world was beautiful in his eyes; however the world had bested him. And so he made his trek to the tallest cliff he knew of, which wasn't too far away. Surprisingly Humphrey felt no emotion or had any second thoughts as he walked, his mind already accepted what he was doing and made no effort to stop him. This was the better decision in his opinion and he felt so glad about it, even though his past omega self would have allowed such a thing to enter his mind.

Finally he arrived at his final destination, the trees opened up to reveal a sudden drop off down to the forest that lied below, the moon still hung overhead. The wind was blowing as Humphrey's paws inched closer towards the edge of the cliff until he could walk no further. The forest floor below him beckoned to him and he wanted to waste no time in getting the pain over with. Stopping to take a last glimpse in of the world around him, no emotion was visible on his face but he was going to miss this place. Life may have been evil and unfair to him but other than that he did have a lot of good times in his life before all this happened. The position he was in right now would make anyone shake in fear and cry but for Humphrey he felt none of that.

"Well Humphrey, it's been a good life but unfortunately life has beaten you." He said to himself.

This was it, he looked down the cliff and was ready to jump and move to the afterlife, which held more promise than his current life. However at nearly the last moment there was a sudden rustling sound behind him. Humphrey quickly spun around to have his eyes meet the sight of something every wolf fears, a puma. The large feline snarled as it emerged from the shadows and into the moonlight. There was only one reasons a puma would be here, and that was because it was looking for a meal, and to the beasts eyes, a weak lone wolf with no fight left was the ideal target.

Humphrey realized that there was no going back now, if he suddenly began to get second thoughts about dying he would have to fight off a puma on his own. A feat that was practically impossible for him in his current condition. The puma knew this and began to creep up closer, getting ready to pounce. Humphrey however would rather jump off the cliff rather than face death from a feline's fangs, so he began to slowly back up to the cliff edge. That was his only escape, an escape that he had no problem with and was already ready for without a puma pinning down his only chance of living. Still the puma kept moving towards him, not realizing his true intentions.

Humphrey closed his eyes as he felt his hind legs reach the cliff face, and with one last breath he allowed himself to fall backwards and become one with the air. The puma made its pounce in a last ditch effort to catch its prey when it realized it was going to jump. Humphrey could hear it snarl in defeat as he began to feel weightless. Air rushed through his fur as time slowed down in his mind. It felt like he had been falling for more than a minute. He wanted to open his eyes thinking it was only a dream and that he was still standing at the cliff edge, but the rush of air was enough to change his mind. The fall only lasted a few seconds but to him it felt like he was flying indefinitely, he was free, all his pain was gone and not a single regret came to him. Suddenly everything went black, he felt an immense force slam into his back, and after that there was no feelings. No pain, no regret, no struggle, just the feeling of a numb darkness that soon faded into an infinite of nothing...

_"No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is likely the single best invention in Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new." -_Steve Jobs

THE END

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**A/N: There you have it, one of the more challenging stories I've written. So why did I write something like this? Well I've never really minded the death of characters in other fanfic's I've read so I knew it was only a matter time until I wrote my own. This story is to share what I think could happen if Humphrey had the worst luck at being a lone wolf. In no way is this story so post to promote death being a good option, this was only written as a challenge to myself and also to try something new. I know some of you out there hate the idea of characters dying in fanfic's but for those of you that did take the time to read this, I truly thank you. Now go read something else that's cheery and happy to liven up the mood after this story!**

**Have a good one!**


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